The Spaniard was scheduled to play in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Thursday after missing seven months because of tendinitis in his left knee. But he said on his Facebook page Tuesday that his doctors ordered him to pull out when he was running a fever, telling him his body needed rest.

"My rehab has gone well, my knee feels good and I was looking forward to competing," he said.

Yeah, sure he is! How is he going to play the AO with no match practice beforehand?

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Nadal has already said he's not expecting to win, until Monte Carlo, so the Australian Open is the match practice. But the odds are he'll play something before the Australian Open too. There are options, Doha or scheduling an exhibition match in Australia or even Kooyong.

Exactly.He can still find another lies like this virus affected the recovery process of the knees.After all the teeth infection is one of the main reasons of slow recovery process No ???

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That is what he will say, because of the virus and not playing at Abu Dhabi he was not able to get in match practice and he can't play the AO if he is not ready or something like that. I could be wrong and he will play Doha and the AO but I can't see it right now. He has even hinted in his interviews that he does not care about any tournament this year before clay season or I think last week he said he does not expect to be competitive until the IW. What bigger hint do we need?

That is what he will say, because of the virus and not playing at Abu Dhabi he was not able to get in match practice and he can't play the AO if he is not ready or something like that. I could be wrong and he will play Doha and the AO but I can't see it right now. He has even hinted in his interviews that he does not care about any tournament this year before clay season or I think last week he said he does not expect to be competitive until the IW. What bigger hint do we need?

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This year scenario is all about for Murray and Djokovic rivalry and Fed retirement.Maybe you are right he will be back but they will try to show it like it takes time.He can still have a great year in 14 or 15 like Serena Williams in WTA last year.The only reason ı think you maybe right is his popularity.He isnt Soderling or Davydenko he has a big fan base.

Can't wait to see Nadal back on-court. We all know what happens when Nadal drops to #4 in the world... WINNER of slams on clay, grass and hard-court all in a calendar year. 3 straight slams. Who knows, he could come up with an even more amazing result in 2013.

yeah, he will. How did novak win wimbledon without any grass practice ? huh????? idiot....

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Did Novak take 6 straight months off the circuit, sorry I must have missed that. How can you compare Nadal's break of six months or more to Djokovic not playing one grass tournament before Wimbledon? And you are calling me the idiot?

This year scenario is all about for Murray and Djokovic rivalry and Fed retirement.Maybe you are right he will be back but they will try to show it like it takes time.He can still have a great year in 14 or 15 like Serena Williams in WTA last year.The only reason ı think you maybe right is his popularity.He isnt Soderling or Davydenko he has a big fan base.

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Murray and Djokovic don't sell tickets the way Nadal and Federer do. Nadal will be back, it could be the AO or not until the clay season or around the IW/Miami time, but he will be back and he will be running around like a rabbit as always.

Murray and Djokovic don't sell tickets the way Nadal and Federer do. Nadal will be back, it could be the AO or not until the clay season or around the IW/Miami time, but he will be back and he will be running around like a rabbit as always.

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You have a point that both Djoko and Murray not have the star power of Fedal,but Fedal is longer creates the same excitement and they become a little bit of old news as well.

You have a point that both Djoko and Murray not have the star power of Fedal,but Fedal is longer creates the same excitement and they become a little bit of old news as well.

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No, I don't think so. Players either have that charisma or they don't. Nadal and Federer have it, Djokovic and Murray do not. I don't think Djokovic and Murray will ever be anything close to Fedal in that respect. Very few players are ever as popular as a Federer, Nadal, Borg, Agassi, etc. Those are special cases.

Can't wait to see Nadal back on-court. We all know what happens when Nadal drops to #4 in the world... WINNER of slams on clay, grass and hard-court all in a calendar year. 3 straight slams. Who knows, he could come up with an even more amazing result in 2013.

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Anything's possible. Personally I think 2010 was a gift for Nadal since Djokovic, Del Potro, Murray and Federer were all non-factors in the Slams. When Djokovic finally matured, Nadal no longer could win anything besides clay. So there won't be any more non-clay titles for Nadal anymore. I think he'll get MC, Rome and RG though in 2013 barring an upset.

No, I don't think so. Players either have that charisma or they don't. Nadal and Federer have it, Djokovic and Murray do not. I don't think Djokovic and Murray will ever be anything close to Fedal in that respect. Very few players are ever as popular as a Federer, Nadal, Borg, Agassi, etc. Those are special cases.

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It's far too early to say if Djoker/Murray will ever be close to Fedal in terms of populariy. Nadal and Federer are only charismatic because of their accomplishments. Was anybody here giving Federer the time of day when he was getting bounced by guys like Ancic in the Slams 10 years back? People just like to ride the wagons of the winners. Nadal and Federer are record holders hence they receive a great deal of support from fans who like to see records get broken.
If Murray and Djokovic were in contention for breaking a crapload of records, they'd get a lot more support. If Djokovic becomes the man to knock off Nadal at RG in 2013, his starpower could skyrocket.

Can't wait to see Nadal back on-court. We all know what happens when Nadal drops to #4 in the world... WINNER of slams on clay, grass and hard-court all in a calendar year. 3 straight slams. Who knows, he could come up with an even more amazing result in 2013.

yeah, he will. How did novak win wimbledon without any grass practice ? huh????? idiot....

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Novak was on one of the greatest win streaks off all time...a little different. With that said, I think Nadal will be back playing at a high level fairly quickly, but IF and only if his knees are truly heathy. No one knows how his knees will react to playing a full schedule again.

Novak was on one of the greatest win streaks off all time...a little different. With that said, I think Nadal will be back playing at a high level fairly quickly, but IF and only if his knees are truly heathy. No one knows how his knees will react to playing a full schedule again.

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I feel the same. As long as his knees are ACTUALLY healthy and not bothering him, I don't see any reason why he won't at least be back to his 2012 level of play again after a while.

I feel the same. As long as his knees are ACTUALLY healthy and not bothering him, I don't see any reason why he won't at least be back to his 2012 level of play again after a while.

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Nadal's 2011 and 2012 level of tennis isn't good enough to win him anything off clay. He needs to go to his 2008 level of play to have any chance of winning anything off clay. Even his 2010 level isn't good enough to win anything off clay because it took him all the way to clay court season for him to finally win a title and he won Wimby and USO at a time when Djokovic, Del Potro, Murray and Federer were basically dead and in severe slumps. The path was open for Nadal to win everything. He won't ever have that same opportunity again now that Djokorraypotro is now coming into prime while Fedal is at the tail end of prime.

Nadal's 2011 and 2012 level of tennis isn't good enough to win him anything off clay. He needs to go to his 2008 level of play to have any chance of winning anything off clay. Even his 2010 level isn't good enough to win anything off clay because it took him all the way to clay court season for him to finally win a title and he won Wimby and USO at a time when Djokovic, Del Potro, Murray and Federer were basically dead and in severe slumps. The path was open for Nadal to win everything. He won't ever have that same opportunity again now that Djokorraypotro is now coming into prime while Fedal is at the tail end of prime.

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Are you also going to put a black cloud over every other victory for every other player in history that didn't beat someone in absolute peak form?

Are you also going to put a black cloud over every other victory for every other player in history that didn't beat someone in absolute peak form?

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Not at all. Nadal is one of the greatest players in history. Definitely the greatest man ever to step foot on clay. All I said was that Nadal's 2010 Wimbledon level wasn't THAT high. He was very beatable but he faced an easier path in some of the tournaments he won because there was little competition that year. Nadal would have beaten Federer in that WTF 2010 Final if Federer hadn't picked up his form in the latter part of that year. Federer was losing to the likes of Hewitt and Montanes in finals for f*** sakes!! :shock: Djokovic couldn't even beat a top 10 player to save his life for most of that year. Del Potro was dead basically and not even on the tour and Murray was a big mess.

Nadal's 2011 and 2012 level of tennis isn't good enough to win him anything off clay. He needs to go to his 2008 level of play to have any chance of winning anything off clay. Even his 2010 level isn't good enough to win anything off clay because it took him all the way to clay court season for him to finally win a title and he won Wimby and USO at a time when Djokovic, Del Potro, Murray and Federer were basically dead and in severe slumps. The path was open for Nadal to win everything. He won't ever have that same opportunity again now that Djokorraypotro is now coming into prime while Fedal is at the tail end of prime.

His hc level in 2011 and 2012 showed he's right there when playing like that. If he can play like that again and stay reasonably healthy I'd certainly like his chances of winning another hc slam.

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True, but he still has not won anything off clay since 2010 and Djokovic and Murray are at the very peak of their powers and you can never rule out old man Federer. Can Nadal win a slam on hc again? I think he can, but, it may not be as easy. Almost winning is not the same as winning. Only the bottom line matters.

True, but he still has not won anything off clay since 2010 and Djokovic and Murray are at the very peak of their powers and you can never rule out old man Federer. Can Nadal win a slam on hc again? I think he can, but, it may not be as easy. Almost winning is not the same as winning. Only the bottom line matters.

First he has to show up at a hc slam to be in the mix. I have a feeling he may not show up anywhere until clay season, I could be wrong. I thought he would be ready for the AO a few weeks ago, but now it doesn't seem that way.

First he has to show up at a hc slam to be in the mix. I have a feeling he may not show up anywhere until clay season, I could be wrong. I thought he would be ready for the AO a few weeks ago, but now it doesn't seem that way.

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Well, his chances for this AO wouldn't be good, naturally. I don't know if he will play it. It's looking somewhat unlikely. I don't know if he should either.

Yep, that title will be the epitome of Nadal's 2013; "broken record". Nadal's 2013 will be all about history and breaking records. Imagine how embarrassing it would be by the time we get to post-Wimbledon, if Nadal will have won AustralianOpen2013, RolandGarros2013, and Wimbledon2013 and STILL not be #1 in the world. Because that's what Nadal is about, WINNING and breaking the big records. I don't think having the record for total weeks at #1 is that important, especially when someone like Wozniacki can get a significant amount of weeks at #1. All that matters is that Nadal has been there for a significant amount of time, but he doesn't need the record to be called the greatest. Whereas federer needs all the records he can get his hands on to try to retain that title...

Yep, that title will be the epitome of Nadal's 2013; "broken record". Nadal's 2013 will be all about history and breaking records. Imagine how embarrassing it would be by the time we get to post-Wimbledon, if Nadal will have won AustralianOpen2013, RolandGarros2013, and Wimbledon2013 and STILL not be #1 in the world. Because that's what Nadal is about, WINNING and breaking the big records. I don't think having the record for total weeks at #1 is that important, especially when someone like Wozniacki can get a significant amount of weeks at #1. All that matters is that Nadal has been there for a significant amount of time, but he doesn't need the record to be called the greatest. Whereas federer needs all the records he can get his hands on to try to retain that title...

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Are you really confident or just trolling? Do you really expect him to win all three majors in a row?